Almost one year after its debut, The Sacred Drones of West Kalimantan (an extended study of the traditional musics of the Kayan and Taman tribes living on the banks of river Mendalam, West Borneo), Tresno Records comes back with a detailed two-episodes sound documentary, this time focusing on the island of Java.

Sriti: Ldgu's sonic adventures in the island of Jah-va - Volume one: Jawa mistis, is the title of the first instalment of this series.

Some of the ceremonial functions of the music of Central Java are portrayed in this first chapter: the opening diptych for example, gives you a precious occasion to listen to the otherwise seldom heard Sekaten, Surakarta's Keraton (the Sultan's palace) holy gamelan orchestra, which leaves its sacred rooms once a year; the processed field recordings of a gamelan piece played during a klenengan, a rare, chilled rehearsal where only the most talented players are allowed to play and which lasts an entire night, reaching its peak around four in the morning, when you are lulled into sleep by wooden hammers hitting bronze gongs that can be up to two/three hundred years old; a group of old women preparing themselves for Idul Fitri, the most important celebration of Islam's calendar.

Jawa mistis (mystic Java) thus tries to capture those nocturnal, eerie, transcendent atmospheres that permeate Central Java's musics, where Kejawen is the common root: the true, original belief of the Javanese, a unique amalgam of Sufism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Animism.

But there's also room for experimentation.

In Sun sing suwe and Genderuwo in fact, Ldgu (Tresno's mastermind) delivers a personal reinterpretation of such sublime frequencies, playing personally recorded gamelan instruments on an old MPC, following that path he started with Dawet, his previous output included in Artetetra's Exotic Ésotérique Vol.2: a groundbreaking compilation of world music that gained the attention of Simon Reynolds, who payed homage to its wondrous sounds on the pages of The Wire #400.

Italy's contemporary music scene has some hidden pearls which are worth to be discovered: Tresno Records and its revolutionary sonic narratives are definitely some of these.

Ldgu: field recordings, processed field recordings, suling Jawa, gender, bass drum, sampler, effects.
Mixed and mastered by Ldgu. Cover picture taken at a wayang kulit, Klaten, Central Java, 2015.

This album is dedicated to Mbah Prapto Suryodarmo.

Get it here:
https://tresnorecords.bandcamp.com/album/sriti-ldgus-sonic-adventures-in-the-island-of-jah-va-vol-1-jawa-mistis

Get it here

Sriti: Ldgu's Sonic Adventures in the Island of Jah-va. Vol. I: Jawa Mistis

Tresno Records is a new born record label that has arisen from the closure of Lil Pitch Records (2011-2016), which was fundamentally focused on urban music and which saw artists like Ether, Pinch, DJ Earl, The Host and Braille Funk (Colossius, UXO, Clap! Clap!) joining its ranks. 

Tresno's first output is a truly rare document, a jewel that shines in its purity made of soulful and love-filled atmospheres. 

The Sacred Drones of West Kalimantan is the result of Ldgu's (former founder of Lil Pitch Records, now Tresno's architect) field researches carried on during the month of June 2015 in western Kalimantan (the indonesian name of Borneo) and more precisely in the areas of the river Mendalam and Danau Sentarum, Kapuas Hulu regency. 
Inspired by the gargantuan work of american ethnomusicologist Philip Yampolsky, who spent most of the '90s recording traditional indonesian musics on behalf of Washington's Smithsonian Folkways Records, this compilation spans from dances to ritual musics to field recordings. 
It involves two Dayak tribes: that of the Kayan (I've managed to find, not without difficulties, the same village Yampolsky had visited back in '95) and that of the Taman. 
The Sacred Drones of West Kalimantan is a sound documentary, a record in which every nuance of Kayan's and Taman's daily life and rituals is present, not to mention unexpected moments of nature's manifestations. 
You'll hear ancient chants, bronze percussions sending people into a state of trance, smokey dances that smell like swamp and somehow remind what Tom Waits was creating in his first years, the traditional lutes of Borneo (both the sape'/sapek/sapeq Kenyah and the Kayan ones are present, alongside Taman's belikan, which makes this record the very first source where it is listenable) and magic rituals: these are some of the aspects you'll fall in love with, because this is simply a marvellous, meaningful sonic experience. 
A deep glance cast over a wild portion of Indonesia which is still unknown even to the Indonesians themselves, let alone western world; an extremely detailed survey of one of the oldest drone musics of Asia. 

The download of the album comes with a twenty-five pages booklet (including a photographic appendix) in which every aspect of Dayak's life and music is investigated, thus making the listener able to dive into this astonishing sonic universe. 

Close your eyes and brace yourselves: this is a journey into sound dimensions we barely know, but which are close to our hearts in ways we could ever imagine. 

Ldgu: field recordings, mixing. 
Mastered by Colossius at QuasiStudio, Florence. 
Cover photo by Ldgu, cover design by Serena Doe. 

The sales of this album will be allocated to the village of Datah Diaan. 
credits
released December 23, 2016 

2016, Tresno Records

The Sacred Drones of West Kalimantan

Maka (meaning "then" in bahasa Indonesia), is an album gathering reworks, remixes and covers from Alkisah, last work by avantgarde Indonesian duo Senyawa, released on a network of 40+ labels and imprints worldwide. 

In order to follow and support the decentralization enterprise, Communion and Artetetra conjured 15 italian artists, selected on the base of affinity and intents with the duo, contributing to the celebration of Alkisah reworking the tracks in 15 new personal versions for an album titled MAKA. From the Indonesian word for “then”, MAKA offers new perspectives using Senyawas album as prime material for what comes after.
credits
released March 21, 2021 

ALKISAH TAPES PRODUCED BY COMMUNION & ARTETETRA ALSO INCLUDE THE REMIX ALBUM! 
artetetra.bandcamp.com/album/alkisah 
comunioneuniversale.bandcamp.com/album/maka-the-alkisah-reworks-divisi-italia-2

Curated by Artetetra and Communion for the Alkisah network. 
Support the enterprise of decentralization and check the nearest imprint: 
alkisah.net/map/ 

Mastered by Giancarlo Brambilla - Kuthi Jin: 
soundcloud.com/kuthijin

Ldgu:
tenor sax, synthesizer, melodica, processed samples.
Mixing: Ldgu

Maka - The Alkisah Reworks Divisi Italia

Kiamat DAD (Dodol Aceh Dub)

Kiamat DAD (Dodol Aceh Dub)- Senyawa's Kiamat Remix

Did this a while ago and just found it in some folder...
Happy summer everyone.
You can download the mixtape if you like :)

Tracklist:

1 Kamiole, Les Troubadours du Roi Baudouin
2 Altibzz, Autechre
3 Theme, Moondog
4 Test, Funkstörung
5 The Gift, The Velvet Underground
6 Castle in the clouds, Gong
7 Senti come suona, Sangue Misto
8 Preview, Jazz Composers Orchestra
9 Chartered Trips, Hüsker Dü
10 Onix, Arto Lindsay
11 La ronde, Michel Chion
12 Nassau, Oneohtrix Point Never
13 Gilak, Gamelan Beleganjur
14 Colors, Pharoah Sanders
15 One very important thought, Boards of Canada
16 Ghetto Tekz Runnin It, DJ Rashad

Lagi romantis

Almost one year after its debut, The Sacred Drones of West Kalimantan (an extended study of the traditional musics of the Kayan and Taman tribes living on the banks of river Mendalam, West Borneo), Tresno Records comes back with a detailed two-episodes sound documentary, this time focusing on the island of Java.

Sriti: Ldgu's sonic adventures in the island of Jah-va - Volume one: Jawa mistis, is the title of the first instalment of this series.

Some of the ceremonial functions of the music of Central Java are portrayed in this first chapter: the opening diptych for example, gives you a precious occasion to listen to the otherwise seldom heard Sekaten, Surakarta's Keraton (the Sultan's palace) holy gamelan orchestra, which leaves its sacred rooms once a year; the processed field recordings of a gamelan piece played during a klenengan, a rare, chilled rehearsal where only the most talented players are allowed to play and which lasts an entire night, reaching its peak around four in the morning, when you are lulled into sleep by wooden hammers hitting bronze gongs that can be up to two/three hundred years old; a group of old women preparing themselves for Idul Fitri, the most important celebration of Islam's calendar.

Jawa mistis (mystic Java) thus tries to capture those nocturnal, eerie, transcendent atmospheres that permeate Central Java's musics, where Kejawen is the common root: the true, original belief of the Javanese, a unique amalgam of Sufism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Animism.

But there's also room for experimentation.

In Sun sing suwe and Genderuwo in fact, Ldgu (Tresno's mastermind) delivers a personal reinterpretation of such sublime frequencies, playing personally recorded gamelan instruments on an old MPC, following that path he started with Dawet, his previous output included in Artetetra's Exotic Ésotérique Vol.2: a groundbreaking compilation of world music that gained the attention of Simon Reynolds, who payed homage to its wondrous sounds on the pages of The Wire #400.

Italy's contemporary music scene has some hidden pearls which are worth to be discovered: Tresno Records and its revolutionary sonic narratives are definitely some of these.

Mixed and mastered by Ldgu. Cover picture taken at a wayang kulit, Klaten, Central Java, 2015.

This album is dedicated to Mbah Prapto Suryodarmo

Sriti - Ldgu's Sonic Adventures in the Island of Jah​-​va, Vol. 1: Jawa Mistis

Anak Anak Main

Kampungku Pertama: Grogolan, Surakarta

Genderuwo

Sun Sing Suwe

Jiwaku Terbang dan Kodok Kodok Nyanyi

Kyai Guntur Sari

Ratu Kidul, Queen of the South Sea

Sriti: Ldgu’s sonic adventures in the island of Jah-va - Volume two: Jawa kesurupan - is the title of Tresno’s third album.
The first instalment of the series (Sriti: Ldgu’s sonic adventures in the island of Jah-va - Volume one: Jawa mistis) was released at the end of last November, immediately followed by a special two-hours mixtape Ldgu was commissioned by London’s NTS Radio.
While the first volume of this three-records series was focusing on the court music of Central Java and on experiments with sampled gamelan sounds, this second sonic adventure is the field recording of a raw, fierce and magnificent twenty-eight minutes jam session Ldgu was asked to join while traveling with his tenor sax in East Java.
The recording session took place in the city of Malang, while attending a local music festival, which goes by the name Kampung Cempluk.
In this almost-thirthy-minutes piece, you can hear Ldgu improvising and raging with his saxophone alongside a typical djidor ensemble: djidor is a very peculiar variation (as of now, we only have traces of it in some neighborhoods of Malang, Jombang, Madura and Banyuwangi) of the better known jaranan, the music usually played in East Java during trance rituals.
The group Ldgu joins here, Gamelan Cempluk, was at that time composed by a female vocalist, a keyboard, a ketuk, a saron, a gong, and a kendang; the band was amplified through a proper street sound system.
Brace yourselves and be ready for a quite rare musical voyage, an explosion of sounds you can almost smell, with men yelling while bronze percussions shine through the speakers.
A witnessing of how two very distant musical traditions can meet, just by chance, and travel together towards the same epiphany.
Many thanks go to Redy Eko Prastyo and Priyo Sunanto Sidhy.

TRACKLIST
LENGTH: 28’13”
01. Ldgu dan Gamelan Cempluk

Ldgu: field recordings, tenor saxophone.
Cover photo by Ldgu; the rebab portraited is the rebab “ Karabalang”, made by Agung Setiawan. 
Mixed and mastered by Ldgu.

Get it here:
https://tresnorecords.bandcamp.com/track/sriti-ldgus-sonic-adventures-in-the-island-of-jah-va-vol-2-jawa-kesurupan

Sriti: Ldgu's sonic adventures in the island of Jah-va - Volume two: Jawa kesurupan

Sriti: Ldgu’s Sonic Adventures in the Island of Jah-va. Vol. II: Jawa Kesurupan

Track n.57.
A rare live recording of a Ldgu performance, this one happened to be at Gedung Kesenian  (Taman Sriwedari), Surakarta, 14/06/2014. 
Here I'm playing a modified sapek and various effects.

Pekak! Indonesian Noise 1995​-​2015. 20 Years Of Experimental Music From Indonesia has just been released.

The compilation is published by Syrphe and a bunch of indonesian diy labels (Relamati Records, Loudness Records, Mindblasting and Hirang Records); Indra Menus did all the archival work while Cedrik Fermont worked in the studio to restore audio files that were taken from a variety of sources.

123 tracks for 123 artists: a massive operation which turned out to be the very first attempt to try to provide an outlook on a scene that literally exploded while Indonesia's pluridecennial dictator Suharto was starting to fall, at the end of the 90's.

From the edge of Sumatra to the borders of Papua, the whole archipelago's scene is portraited, while I must admit I'm very proud to be the only foreigner included in this project, side by side with musicians like Senyawa, Sodadosa and Lintang Raditya, just to name a few.

Get it here:

https://syrphe.bandcamp.com/album/pekak-indonesian-noise-1995-2015-20-years-of-experimental-music-from-indonesia

Pekak! Indonesian Noise 1995-2015. 20 Years Of Experimental Music From Indonesia

Pekak! Indonesian Noise 1995​-​2015. 20 Years Of Experimental Music From Indonesia

Tubun Situn

Lupaak Avun

Lengiling

Sape’ Kenyah And Ceremonial Singing

Procession And Chants, II

Procession And Chants, I

Sixteen Hours of Hardcore Rally (180bpm Dangdut Remix)

Sixteen Hours Of Hardcore Rally (excerpt)

Khardala/Beldia: Chefchaouen’s Holy Smokes, is the title of Tresno Records’ fourth instalment.

While working on the last chapter of the Sriti series (a three-hearted sound documentary about some of Java’s most representative musics) and investigating on Sufism and its pivotal role in the preservation of ancient forms of art in certain areas of the world, Ldgu has flown to Morocco, managing to collect precious recordings in the old city of Chefchaouen.
The ethnomusicological approach used here is that which marks Tresno’s creed: getting involved with unforewarned local musicians in order to witness performances that must be as spontaneous as possible.
This output is all about Gnawa: Moroccans’ true, centennial sound.
Originated centuries ago among those slaves who, from the Sub-Saharian belt were taken north, towards Maghreb, Gnawa is still considered nowadays to be one of the purest, oldest and untouched forms of African music.
Rooted in animism and usually displayed in private ceremonies called lila, its features mirror those of many trance musics: circular, reiterated melodies and rhythm patterns slowly become more intricate, so that the listener loses track of time.
The opener is usually a prayer/calling, dedicated to the close ones or to spiritual leaders (you can hear the name of Mahmoud Guinia at the beginning of Youbadi); a central part then follows and this is when the function of the ritual is unfolded.
Abrupt, sudden tempo changes, will finally indicate that the closing is about to approach. Prayers, healing poetry, myths that tell how hard is to live and find nourishment in the desert, coded formulas... This is what Gnawa has been passing down so far, hinged on an extremely strong oral tradition.
Back home, in Italy, I ask my Moroccan neighbour to help me with the translation of the lyrics, so I give him a pen-drive and when he returns it to me, after a while, he says:
“I’ve asked my grandpa ‘cause I wasn’t able to understand their tongue, it’s ancient and it has always sounded a bit weird to me”.
Massive is indeed the presence of the Tamazight and Bambara languages, other aspects that make us clearly understand how much this music owns to countries like Mali and Niger, where an uncountable number of people were made slaves.
“Only thing he could tell me was this: while these words express old stories and tell about the past, they have the power to foresee the events”.
And so, instantly, everything was clear: I saw this infinite army of elegant, smiling and whirling shamans playing and singing like bluesmen, slapping those thick strings Larry Graham-style, their proud gazes pregnant with knowledge cast into space.
Towards a distant, but already sensed future.

Saha koyo.

TRACKLIST
LENGTH: 27’33’’
01. Alwali Ya Moulay Ahmed
02. Youbadi
03. Toura Toura / La Illaha Illa Allah / Boulila

Sabir Aslah: leading vocals, sintir (guembri)
Morad Raissouni: backing vocals, garagab (qraqeb), clapping Mohamed El Habti: backing vocals, lighters, tea pouring, clapping Ldgu: clapping, field recordings.

Recorded in Chefchaouen, December 2018. Cover photo by Ldgu.
Mixed and mastered by Ldgu.

releases July 19, 2019

2019, Tresno Records

Khardala​/​Beldia: Chefchaouen's Holy Smokes

Toura Toura/La Illaha Illa Allah/Boulila

Youbadi

Khardala/Beldia: Chefchaouen’s Holy Smokes

Alwali Ya Moulai Ahmed

Alwali Ya Moulay Ahmed

Like it or not, relationships come to an end: turn the page, walk away.
A prismatic monolith of improvised jams, where I play a huge array of instruments, from bass guitar to tenor sax, from Chinese to Indonesian winds and sapek, the lute of the Kenyah (Dayak) tribes of Borneo (some of you might remember Tresno’s first release back in 2016, The Sacred Drones of West Kalimantan, which focused on the traditional musics of the Kenyah and the Kayan tribes of the river Mendalam in West Borneo).
This is Tresno Records’ sixth release since its foundation, four years ago

Ldgu: sampelong (track one), bass guitar (track two), hulusi (track two), suling Jawa (track two), tenor sax (track three), sapek Kenyah (track four), feedbacks, reverberations.
Vacuum Templi: tape loops (track one, two), synth (track two, three). 
Irene Bolormaa: vocals (track three).

Mixing: Ldgu, Vacuum Templi (track one, two, three), Ldgu (track four). 
Mastering: Ldgu
Cover art: Ldgu.

2020 Tresno Records

The End of a Story

The Last Beam of Light

The Last Beam Of Light

A Frozen Pristine Feeling

Intro

Ldgu is like a dildo for your soul
https://linktr.ee/Ldgu

Next shows: 2022

with Senyawa, @ Circolo Dong, Macerata. June 8th
                      with Ponzio Pilates @ Sziget Festival, Budapest, Aug 10th
                      with Ponzio Pilates @ Umbria Jazz, Terni, Sep 17th
                      with Japan Blues Neurotica Exotica @ Iklectick, London, Nov 10th

                      2023

                      Ludus (8 improvisers orchestra), Angelica, Bologna, Jan 26th, 28th
                      Sleeping concert, Ascoli Piceno, April 1st 
                      Facoltà di Filosofia, Università di Macerata, May 17th
L'Orientale, Università di Napoli, May 26th

Ldgu's music has been released by:
QueenSpectra, Syrphe, Artetetra, Tresno Records, Insitu Recordings, Slowth Records.

Musicians I've shared the stage*/collaborated° with:

Ben Frost (AUS)*, Arrington De Dionyso (USA)*, Jin Hi Kim (South Korea)*, Clap! Clap! (IT)°, Colossius/Ether (IT)°, UXO/HDADD (IT)°, Senyawa (ID)*°, DJ Earl (USA)°, The Host (IE)°, Lucas Abela (AUS)*, DJ Pinch (UK)*°, In Zaire (IT)*°, Prapto Suryodarmo (ID)*°, Mugiyono Kasido/Studio Mugi Dance (ID)*°, Fajar Satriadi (ID)*, The Doubtful Guest (USA)°, I Wayan Karta Koper (ID)°, Gempur Sentosa (ID)*°, Linda Vitolo (IT)*°, I’D M Thfft Able (USA)*, Subeena (IT)*, Phace (Ger)*, Congo Natty (UK)*, Icicle (Hol)*, Rockwell (UK)*, Pole (Ger)*, Hatcha (UK)*, Kromestar (UK)*, Jack Sparrow (UK)*, Dope DOD (Hol)*, Herva (IT)*, Ital Tek (UK)*, Kuedo (UK)*, Luke Vibert (UK)*, µ-Ziq (UK)*, Rebel Up! SebCat (BE)*, Bombino (RN)*, Sigillum S (IT)*, His Hubris (MY)*, Dharma Shan (SG)*, Karen Borca Big Band (USA)*, Alvin Curran (USA/IT)*°, Francesco Giomi (IT)*°, Max Eilbacher (USA)*, Japan Blues (UK)*, Vincenzo Vasi (IT)*°, Edoardo Marraffa (IT)*°, Fabrizio Puglisi (IT)*°, Gioele Pagliaccia *° (IT), Filippo Giuffrè *° (IT)

Ldgu

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